Broadcaster and campaigner Dame Esther Rantzen has died at the age of 86.

In a statement, her family paid tribute to the “most wonderful mother” and “cherished grandmother” who will be remembered for her “endless capacity for joy”.

She died surrounded by family at her home in the New Forest, a spokesperson confirmed.

Dame Esther hosted BBC consumer affairs show That’s Life! for 21 years from 1973 to 1994. The show became one of the most popular on British television, investigating huge issues of the day including a boarding school employing paedophiles and a lack of organ donors.

Dame Esther later founded established charities to help both the young and old, launching Childline in 1986, to provide counselling services for young people, and The Silver Line in 2012, which aims to tackle loneliness in older people.

She was awarded an OBE for services to broadcasting in 1991, and a CBE for services to children in 2006.

She appeared on the second series of Strictly Come Dancing in 2004, partnering Anton Du Beke.

In the 2015 New Year Honours, she was made a Dame for services to children and older people through Childline and The Silver Line.

She also become a prominent voice in the attempt to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales in recent years, after being diagnosed with stage four lung cancer in 2023.

Dame Esther criticised the “messy and cruel” law in England and Wales which would criminalise loved ones who tried to help, branding it a “tragic day” when the assisted dying Bill fell.

She spoke of her plans to “buzz off to Zurich” to have an assisted death, but earlier this month, she shared that she had become “too physically fragile to make the journey”.

A statement from her children Miriam Wilcox, Rebecca Wilcox and Joshua Wilcox, read: “Our adored mother Dame Esther Rantzen died today.

“Her legacy of compassion and understanding will live on in her charities Childline and the Silverline, and through those of us who were lucky enough to love and be loved by her. We are grateful she is finally at rest with her beloved husband, Desmond Wilcox, but we will miss her immeasurably. She was our sunshine.

“We will always remember her endless capacity for joy, her ability to comfort every heartache, her beautiful way with words and her expert guidance in all things.

“She was the most wonderful mother to us three children and a cherished grandmother to her five treasured grandchildren. We have been so lucky for so long, no matter how much time we had with Mum it could be never be enough, but we are so grateful for our lives together.

“Mum’s work with charities and campaigning, particularly for children, older people, and the terminally ill, meant the world to her so thank you to everyone who has written to her, shared their stories with her over the years and worked alongside her.

“We hope the humour, ingenuity and audacity she brought to her work may continue to inspire you as it will do us. We kindly ask that we are given privacy and time to grieve.”

TV host Lorraine Kelly paid tribute to Dame Esther on Instagram.

She wrote: “Sad news – a pioneer and a force of nature. Helped so many people – funny, forthright and fabulous. Thoughts with all her family and many friends.”

Dame Elaine Paige said she is “so very sad” to hear about Dame Esther’s death, sharing an old photograph on Instagram, along with a heartfelt tribute as she paid her respects to the broadcaster and campaigner.

She wrote: “So very sad to hear of the death of Esther Rantzen. A great broadcaster, journalist and campaigner”.